London hands over the Olympic baton to Rio in style

LONDON threw the biggest and best party to bring down the curtain on a terrific Olympic Games.

The flag bearers make their way onto the stage at the Olympics closing ceremony []

Artistic director Kim Gavin had said prior to the show, 'This is London calling… calling you to a party for the world'. It was designed to invite people all around the world to indulge in the celebrations.

The show kicked off with the unmistakeable sound of the chimes of Big Ben, with the crowd counting down in unison.

Timothy Spall pops out of Big Ben during the Olympics closing ceremony

Emeli Sande took the stage for the first big performance, unwrapped in a newspaper rubbish truck, and seduced the crowd with her hit song Read All About It, which got her to number one in charts.

Stomp, who assembled a massive cast to play the steel drums on the model version of London that had been erected inside the Stadium, and contained a number of famous landmarks including the London Eye. This was supposed to encapsulate the city during rush hour.

I've never been surrounded by more happy people than I am right now

James Pearce

"Because" merged into the classical music element of the Edward Elgar's 1888 composition Salut D'Amour, played by Julian Lloyd Webber on cello. He was sitting on top of the Royal Albert Hall

The camera shot to Team GB ambassador Prince Harry and the Duchess of Cambridge along with the IOC President Jacques Rogge.

Madness, who were one of the highlights of the Diamond Jubilee concert, sang their celebrated track Our House, and around them, performers were reenacting street parties before this cut to Blur's 'Parklife anthem was played by some 160 Guards of the Household Division Ceremonial State Band.

Emeli Sande performs her hit song Read All About It inside the Olympic stadium

Pet Shop Boys then performed West End Girls which was supposed to evoke the literary brilliance of TS Eliot, who wrote the poem The Waste Land in 1922.

One Direction raised the roof as they belted out 'What makes you beautiful' on a rolling truck. The boys looked their usual dapper themselves with Harry wearing a grey jacket and trousers, and Zane with his bowler hat. Everyone clapped their hands together.

It was quite simply breathtaking. The next segment of the show was supposed to represent London during rush hour, where performers carried out myriad of tasks, including sweeping and digging, to ensure London's roads kept ticking over nicely.

Spelbound, who burst onto the scene courtesy of Britain's Got Talent, were mesmerising, and represented the transition between day and night with a boy in stripped pajamas jumping out of his bed and being lifted by a support act.

Madness warm up the crowd with Our House on the Olympic stage

In response to The BBC'S sport correspondent James Pearce tweeted: "I want to bottle tonight and open it again when clocks go back in October.

"I've never been surrounded by more happy people than I am right now."

Ray Davies coolly got out of a black cab before strolling on to the stage and serenading the crowd with his acclaimed song Waterloo Sunset, which retells the story of how two lovers clapped eyes on each other at Waterloo station.

Sande duly returned back to the stage to provide a rather mellow version of Read All About It which was well received by the crowd.

The flag-bearers made their entrance to the stadium, with the athletes following behind them. They came through the crowds, and they proudly displayed their gold medals. Ben Ainslie was trying to take in the enormity of the occasion, and appeared close to tears.

George Michael entertains the crowd at the Olympic closing ceremony

But this was of course a moment of unbridled joy for the athletes who had carried the hopes and expectations of the nation on their shoulders. The athletes who entered the stadium in unison, is something that has been a part of Olympic tradition since the 1956 Games, which were held in Melbourne.

As the athletes flooded in, confetti submerged the stadium and added to the marvelous visual spectacle, with the abstract Great Britain flag, which had been painted in the middle clearly visible.

There was of course some loose ends that needed tying up, and the men's medal marathon medal ceremony went ahead. Stephen Kiprotich made his country, Uganda very proud by winning Uganda's first Olympic gold medal for 40 years. He was joined on the medal rostrum by Kenyan duo Abel Kirui and Wilson Kipsang took the silver and bronze respectively.

The volunteers were then publicly thanked for all their hard work and dedication, and this induced a rapturous round of applause by the crowd inside the stadium.

The symphony of British music was superbly chronicled, starting with George Michael, who performed Freedom. The Kaiser Chiefs ratcheted up the volume up a few notches before the current crop of chart stars blew away the crowd with some outstanding performances.

Taio Cruz performs Dynamite in the back of a Rolls-Royce

Jessie J got the crowd going with Price Tag, and this was mixed in with a set from the renowned DJ Fatboy Slim. Taio Cruz, the most viewed YouTube musician performed Dynamite and Tinie Tempah's Written In The Stars captured the imagination, as he sung it standing up on the back seat of a Rolls-Royce that drove him round the stadium.

More was to come, with Muse lifting the crowd with their official song of the London 2012 Games- Survival. Wherever you looked, there was something magical. Simon Woodroffe, who was responsible for the lighting brought the whole production to life.

And arguably the crowning moment of the night was when Brazil were given a chance to encompass the cultural diversity and samba spirit of the nation, when an array of dancers performed on stage. Pele, added some stardust to the occasion when he arrived on stage.

The event was eclectic and electric, and contained a dash of hubris too, when someone was shot or rather dumped out of a cannon.

The speeches paid tribute to the host city London and the sporting feast they put on.

London 2012 chair Sebastian Coe addressed the crowd.

He said: "We lit the flame and we lit up the world. Once again we have shown ourselves worthy. For that I want to say thank you.

"Thank you to the people of this country. At our closing ceremony we can say theses are a Games by everyone."

IOC President Jacques Rogge also delivered a stirring speech.

He said: "We are indebted to so many tonight. The organising committee did a superb job, thank you Lord Coe and your team.

"We will never forget the smiles and kindness and support of the volunteers, the much needed heroes of these Games."

The cameras shot to Prince Harry in the crowd, who looked visibly moved by it all.

Take That performed rule the world as the Olympic flame was being extinguished, and it was a fitting moment to cap what had been a superlative evening.

People had been carping in the run-up to the Games about whether the Games would bear fruition as a gargantuan sum of money had been outlaid, but this was a triumphant night.